Preview: Ravens vs. Jaguars

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

The Baltimore Ravens’ blitzing defense looks to rattle Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars when the two teams meet at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday. Baltimore has notched four interceptions in each of its two games while allowing a total of 10 points on the way to a 2-0 record.

Jacksonville has also been led by its defense but the group that registered 10 sacks in its stunning season-opening win at Houston was limited to just one last time out in a 37-16 loss against Tennessee. The Jaguars were once again left to ponder their quarterback situation as Bortles threw two interceptions and lost a fumble and Jacksonville didn’t score a touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. The Ravens will apply plenty of pressure of their own as linebacker Terrell Suggs has three of their eight sacks on the season. While this will be Jacksonville’s fifth straight year playing a game in London, it is the first for Baltimore.

ABOUT THE RAVENS (2-0): The Ravens, who are already without running back Danny Woodhead (hamstring), list Terrance West as questionable with a soft tissue injury. That could pose a problem for Baltimore, which has made an effort to run the ball and enters the contest ranked second in the league with 74 rushing attempts and tied for third with 293 yards on the ground. Joe Flacco has three touchdown passes and has completed 34 of 51 throws for 338 yards, but the Ravens’ deep threats (Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman) have been non-existent thus far, combining for three catches for just 20 yards receiving.

ABOUT THE JAGUARS (1-1): Rookie Leonard Fournette ranks fifth in the league with 140 rushing yards and has scored a touchdown in both games. His success is paramount to Doug Marrone’s offensive designs as the Jaguars try to rein in the turnover-plagued Bortles, who threw the ball a career-low 21 times in the win against the Texans. “However, we can find ways to win, if it’s throwing it 50 times or five times, I‘m more than willing to do that and fine with it,” Bortles said. “It’s not, ‘I‘m mad because we’re not throwing the ball enough.’ It’s not that. I couldn’t care less.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Ravens defeated the Jaguars 19-17 last season on a 54-yard field goal by Justin Tucker with just over a minute left to play.

2. Jaguars RB T.J. Yeldon has missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury and is questionable for Sunday.

3. Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey is still nursing an ankle injury, but while he hasn’t practiced in two weeks, he did play against the Titans.